By Bill Alden

For the Princeton University men’s heavyweight rowing team, its approach to the spring season comes down to a basic principle.

“Straight up, the one word that describes it is consistency,” said Princeton head coach Greg Hughes. “It is consistency as an individual, it is consistency as a whole team.”

So far, Princeton has displayed that consistency, as its varsity 8 opened the season on March 29 by topping Drexel, Temple, and Georgetown. The Tiger top boat covered the 2,000-meter course on Lake Carnegie in a time of 5:48.6 with Drexel taking second in 6:00.2, Temple coming in third at 6:01.0, and Georgetown fourth in 6:05.1.

A week later, the Princeton varsity 8 produced a dominant performance in topping Navy to earn the Navy-Princeton Cup. Princeton’s top boat finished the 2,000-meter course at 5:34.1 with Navy coming in at 5:56.4.

Last Saturday, Princeton headed to Philadelphia to face Penn and Columbia on the Schuylkill River in the race for the venerable Childs Cup. Once again, the varsity 8 was up to the task, coming in first with a winning time of 5:29.9 with Penn taking second in 5:38.2 and Columbia placing third in 5:49.2. It marked the 11th straight win for Princeton in the competition which started in 1879, making it the oldest cup event in collegiate sports.

Some soul searching by Princeton has helped it produce the hot start.

“We went into the spring, knowing that we had to make some changes as a team,” said Hughes. “In our winter training, the guys looked at what they wanted to improve on and set some great goals and then chipped away at them. The winter training for our group was very solid, it was a positive step. It has been exciting to see in the spring season what that extra work had done for them.”

Hughes credits his senior group of 16, which includes some athletes who took a gap year during the pandemic, with setting a selfless tone.

“I think that is one of the things we see is that there has been a very noticeable change in putting the team first … which is not always the case,” said Hughes. “It is easy to think about yourself and your performance. I think the senior class has done a really great job creating an environment where our primary goal is making all of our boats fast and fast on race day.”

In winning the Childs Cup race, the Tigers displayed some adaptability.

“One of things we talked about as a team is improving the ability to step up when we are challenged,” said Hughes. “Last week was a week where we did have challenges. We had two athletes out with a bug and they were out of our varsity group. There were some guys who stepped up in new roles across all of the lineups. The energy was really good, the guys took on the challenge. That is not easy.”

That flexibility bodes well for the challenges ahead. “I think in rowing with our season being as long as it is and having big races every weekend, every weekend isn’t going to be absolutely perfect,” said Hughes. “So how we step up and adjust in situations where we are challenged is really important for our overall development.”

Stepping up to win the Childs Cup for the 11th straight time it has been contested was important for the Tigers.

“We are incredibly lucky to do that,” said Hughes. “It is a cool achievement.”

Hughes feels lucky to have some key seniors on the top boat.

“Nate Phelps has done a great job this year, he has been there for every race,” said Hughes of the senior standout. “The varsity is interestingly pretty young and Nate is in there. James Quinlan had been in there, he was one of the guys who got sick. He was replaced by Floyd Benedikter, who is a senior and then also went out. Erik Spinka is another senior and he stepped up.”

A pair of freshmen, Theo Bell and Marcus Chute, have stepped in to spark the varsity 8.

“There are two freshmen in there and they have done a great job,” said Hughes. “Theo is from the U.K. and Marcus, who is also from the U.K. Both were strong junior rowers. Last summer, Theo actually made the GB U-23 8 even though he had just finished high school and they won the gold medal.”

While Hughes is happy with how things have gone so far this spring, he knows that doesn’t guarantee a strong finish.

“It is still early, there are bigger races to come,” said Hughes. “The next three weeks are big weeks, we have to keep making gains.”

With Princeton hosting archival Harvard this Saturday, the Tigers will have to make gains to overcome the Crimson.

“They look strong at every level, without a doubt,” said Hughes of Harvard. “At the 1V level, they are ranked ahead of us. They have been racing well so far. We will need to make sure that we are ready for them.”